Local scouts launch disc golf course in Brooklyn Park

Published November 22, 2012 at 12:13 am

David Hubert of Brooklyn Park took a short running start on a concrete slab, or “tee box,” and whipped a flying disc down the fairway toward a metal basket. When the others in his group had taken their turns, he located his white disc, picked it up and took aim at the basket again.

He was playing disc golf at a new course next to Brooklyn Park Church at 7849 W. Broadway. But to David it was a special course, because he designed it.

David was one five Boy Scouts from Troop 276 who created the nine-hole course, called Eagle’s Edge, for their Eagle Scout Project. They broke ground in August and celebrated the grand opening with a ribbon cutting Oct. 30. Brooklyn Park Mayor Jeff Lunde attended. After the ceremony, scouts and their families took to the fairways, which are now open to the public at no charge.

David enjoyed seeing people play the course.

“I’m just satisfied that a design that I created came together in such a great way,” he said.

But it took all five scouts, ages 13-15, and many volunteers to make that happen.

When they chose the project, the scouts divided the labor. Each took charge of one aspect of the course.

David was responsible for course design. His brother Matt took charge of constructing two wooden bridges over drainage ditches, as well as beautifying the ditches. Brady Sullivan, of Champlin, led target construction. Dan Faulds of Dayton headed tee-box construction. Drew Johnson, also from Dayton, took care of signage, including a wooden course map and granite tee-box markers.

It took the scouts and volunteers about 600 hours to transform the small, lightly wooded area into a disc golf course, according to Mark Sullivan, Brady’s father. And that doesn’t count the work that went into planning, recruiting or securing donations.

The scouts brought in heavy equipment to move dirt, and they burned out three saws clearing brush.

All the labor paid off in the form of a high-quality course.

Mike Snelson, founder of Fairway Flyerz in St. Paul, has designed many courses since the sport began gaining popularity in the mid-’90s, and he served as a consultant to the scouts throughout the process.

“When you compare it to the other courses (in the area) … these guys did a very, very good job on this course,” he said.

Despite the small size of the course, Snelson said, it offers a challenge for recreational disc golfers. And he prefers it to Brooklyn Park’s other course, located in Central Park.

“I truly believe that hole five (is) one of the prettiest holes in the area,” Snelson said.

Hole five features a raised tee-box that enables players to throw discs over a small swamp to the target on the other side.

The scouts plan to make a few improvements to the course in the spring. They hope it will be a resource to the church and the surrounding community.